Oral health status of children with congenital heart disease and the awareness, attitude and knowledge of their parents.

The oral health status of children with congenital heart diseases and the parental awareness on maintaining good oral health and attitude towards preventive dental health measures were evaluated. A total of 170 children between the age group of 1-16 yrs belonging to both genders, with the history of congenital heart disease from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram and Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore were examined. Oral lesions and caries experience were recorded using modified WHO oral health assessment form.

Characterization of structurally defined epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies produced by chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells.

Despite a wealth of information about the structure of surface membrane immunoglobulin (smIg) on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells, little is known about epitopes reacting with their binding sites. Probing phage-displayed peptide libraries, we identified and characterized mimetopes for Igs of 4 patients with IGHV mutated CLL (M-CLL) and 4 with IGHV unmutated CLL (U-CLL). Six of these mAbs were representatives of stereotyped B-cell receptors characteristic of CLL.

Management guidelines for the use of alemtuzumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The consensus views of an expert roundtable meeting are presented as updated management guidelines for using alemtuzumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Since the publication of previous management guidelines in 2004, clinical experience with alemtuzumab has grown significantly, especially regarding its efficacy and safety, management of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation, identification of patient subgroups likely to benefit from alemtuzumab therapy and subcutaneous administration of alemtuzumab. The updated recommendations include (1) alemtuzumab monotherapy can be safely used as first-line therapy; (2) suitable patient subgroups for alemtuzumab therapy include elderly patients, patients with 17p deletion, patients with refractory autoimmune cytopenias and patients with profound pancytopenia at baseline due to heavily infiltrated bone marrow; (3) alemtuzumab treatment should be continued for 12 weeks (36 doses) whenever possible, and bone marrow examination may be considered at week 12 to evaluate response; (4) monitoring CMV reactivation by weekly PCR is mandated during therapy; when CMV reactivation becomes symptomatic or viremia increases, alemtuzumab therapy should be interrupted and anti-CMV therapy started; (5) subcutaneous administration is safe, easy to perform and appears equally effective compared with intravenous infusion and (6) our strong recommendation is that alemtuzumab combination therapy and consolidation therapy shall not be used outside carefully controlled clinical studies.

Regional odontodysplasia: An unusual case report.

Regional odontodysplasia is an uncommon developmental anomaly affecting a localized area of dentition, with distinctive clinical, radiographic, and histological findings. This article reviews a case of a 14-year-old female who reported with unerupted maxillary anterior teeth. This case was rare in that it involved maxillary dentition with unerupted maxillary anterior teeth on the right side, but the left central incisor was missing.

Total antioxidant capacity of saliva and its relation with early childhood caries and rampant caries.

Dental caries is an infectious and communicable disease and multiple factors influence the initiation and progression of the disease. Recently it has been claimed that oxidative stress may play an important role in the onset and the development of several inflammatory oral pathologies and dental caries may also be included. Saliva could constitute a first line of defense against free radical- mediated oxidative stress.

A two-step model for colon adenoma initiation and progression caused by APC loss.

Aberrant Wnt/beta-catenin signaling following loss of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) is thought to initiate colon adenoma formation. Using zebrafish and human cells, we show that homozygous loss of APC causes failed intestinal cell differentiation but that this occurs in the absence of nuclear beta-catenin and increased intestinal cell proliferation. Therefore, loss of APC is insufficient for causing beta-catenin nuclear localization.

A combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone effectively treats immune cytopenias of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Auto-immune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) are known complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Rituximab, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (RCD) effectively target lymphocytes and inhibit autoimmune processes. We reviewed 21 patients with CLL treated for AIHA alone (n = 18), ITP alone (n = 1) or both (n = 2) with the following RCD regimen: rituximab 375 mg/m(2) i.

Antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects of substituted-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives is mediated by down regulation of VEGF and inhibition of translocation of HIF-1alpha in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

Purpose: 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles are an important class of heterocyclic compounds, which play a pivotal role in various pharmaceutical applications. Here, we investigated the antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects of the derivatives and explored its mechanism of action on EAT cells.

Methods: The cytotoxic effect of the derivatives on EAT and HEK293 cells was assessed by MTT assay.

Order and dynamics inside H-PDLC nanodroplets: an ESR spin probe study.

We have performed a detailed study of the order and dynamics of the commercially available BL038 liquid crystal (LC) inside nanosized (50-300 nm) droplets of a reflection-mode holographic-polymer dispersed liquid crystal (H-PDLC) device where LC nanodroplet layers and polymer layers are alternately arranged, forming a diffraction grating. We have determined the configuration of the LC local director and derived a model of the nanodroplet organization inside the layers. To achieve this, we have taken advantage of the high sensitivity of the ESR spin probe technique to study a series of temperatures ranging from the nematic to the isotropic phase of the LC.

Dual-time-point F-18 FDG PET/CT for evaluation of intrathoracic lymph nodes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic capacity of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose dual-time-point (DTP) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for intrathoracic lymph node (LN) metastases in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four patients had DTP PET/CT, with 60 minutes and 2-hour scans (n=19, NSCLC; n=15, benign pulmonary disease). LN diagnoses were confirmed by surgery or clinical follow-up (n=14, metastatic LNs; n=45, nonmetastatic LNs; n=39, inflammatory LNs).

DNA demethylation in zebrafish involves the coupling of a deaminase, a glycosylase, and gadd45.

Evidence for active DNA demethylation in vertebrates is accumulating, but the mechanisms and enzymes remain unclear. Using zebrafish embryos we provide evidence for 5-methylcytosine (5-meC) removal in vivo via the coupling of a 5-meC deaminase (AID, which converts 5-meC to thymine) and a G:T mismatch-specific thymine glycosylase (Mbd4). The injection of methylated DNA into embryos induced a potent DNA demethylation activity, which was attenuated by depletion of AID or the non enzymatic factor Gadd45.

Transfersomes: self-optimizing carriers for bioactives.

The transdermal route of drug delivery has gained great interest of pharmaceutical research, as it circumvents number of problems associated with oral route of drug administration. The major barrier in transdermal delivery of drug is the skin intrinsic barrier, the stratum corneum, the outermost envelop of the skin that offers the principal hurdle for diffusion of hydrophilic ionizable bioactives. Recently, various strategies have been used to augment the transdermal delivery of bioactives.

Preparation and characterization of polymer nanocomposite containing PMMA, styrene and nanoalumina.

Polymer syrup of polymethyl methacrylate and polystyrene reinforced with 2% non settling nanoalumina particles was prepared by dual initiating system containing benzoylperoxide (BPO), azo-bisisobutyro nitrile (AIBN) and dimethylaniline (DMA). Nanoalumina particles were prepared using autoignition of aluminum nitrate and urea. Nanoalumina particles show the tendency of agglomeration in the polymer matrix because of the presence of hydroxyl groups on its surface.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells recognize conserved epitopes associated with apoptosis and oxidation.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) represents the outgrowth of a CD5(+) B cell. Its etiology is unknown. The structure of membrane Ig on CLL cells of unrelated patients can be remarkably similar.

[Treatment-refractory-dental-extraction-associated pyothorax involving infection by 2 species of oral originated bacteria requires surgical debridement by video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)].

Cases of septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) diagnosed clinically by CT after dental extraction rarely include verification of bacteria from the local infection site. We report the case of a 70-year-old man without background disease suffering severe pyothrax after dental extraction. We detected two species of oral bacteria from his pleural effusion.

Management of congenital bilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis with secondary mandibular hypoplasia.

The aim of this article is to present the course of the condition in a case of congenital temporomandibular joint ankylosis that caused facial disfigurement, significant reduction of mouth opening, difficulty in feeding and breathing, and general interference with physical development.

Novel genomic alterations and clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia revealed by representational oligonucleotide microarray analysis (ROMA).

We examined copy number changes in the genomes of B cells from 58 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) by using representational oligonucleotide microarray analysis (ROMA), a form of comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), at a resolution exceeding previously published studies. We observed at least 1 genomic lesion in each CLL sample and considerable variation in the number of abnormalities from case to case. Virtually all abnormalities previously reported also were observed here, most of which were indeed highly recurrent.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia antibodies with a common stereotypic rearrangement recognize nonmuscle myosin heavy chain IIA.

Leukemic B lymphocytes of a large group of unrelated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients express an unmutated heavy chain immunoglobulin variable (V) region encoded by IGHV1-69, IGHD3-16, and IGHJ3 with nearly identical heavy and light chain complementarity-determining region 3 sequences. The likelihood that these patients developed CLL clones with identical antibody V regions randomly is highly improbable and suggests selection by a common antigen. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from this stereotypic subset strongly bind cytoplasmic structures in HEp-2 cells.

[Oxidative stress in gastric carcinogenesis].

There is still high stomach cancer though its mortality rate Helicobacter pylori has tended to decrease for the past several years. Study of Helicobacter pylori become more active as the relation between the stomach cancer and Helicobacter pylori has been clarified. In the present study, we added considerations from the literature in terms of oxidation stress with Helicobacter pylori about the underlying mechanism of the stomach cancer.

Alemtuzumab in the up-front setting.

Alemtuzumab is a humanized chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting CD52. Although this agent already has an important role in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), many of its uses are still being defined. Early trials showed alemtuzumab's value in refractory disease and helped to define its excellent activity in the bone marrow, spleen and 17p deleted patients.

Surface expression of Bcl-2 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other B-cell leukemias and lymphomas without a breakpoint t(14;18).

Since its discovery in follicular lymphoma cells at the breakpoint t(14;18), Bcl-2 has been studied extensively in many basic and clinical science settings. Bcl-2 can locate as an integral mitochondrial membrane component, where its primary role is to block apoptosis by maintaining membrane integrity. Here we show that Bcl-2 also can position on the outer cell surface membrane of B cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and certain other leukemias that do not classically possess the chromosomal breakpoint t(14;18).

Relative value of ZAP-70, CD38, and immunoglobulin mutation status in predicting aggressive disease in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Leukemia-cell expression of ZAP-70, CD38, or unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region genes (U-IGHV) each is associated with aggressive disease in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). To assess the relative strength of each marker, we defined thresholds for designating a case as positive for CD38 or ZAP-70 in a test cohort of 307 patients and used these data-defined criteria to stratify patients in an independent cohort of 705 patients. Multivariable analysis revealed that ZAP-70 was the strongest risk factor.

Induction of lung adenocarcinoma in transgenic mice expressing activated EGFR driven by the SP-C promoter.

To investigate the role of an activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in lung cancer, we generated transgenic mice expressing the delE748-A752 mutant version of mouse EGFR driven by the SP-C promoter, which is equivalent to the delE746-A750 mutation found in lung cancer patients. Strikingly, the mice invariably developed multifocal lung adenocarcinomas of varying sizes at between 5 and 6 weeks of age, and they died from tumor progression approximately 2 months later if left untreated. Daily oral administration of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib (5 mg/kg/day) reduced the total and phosphorylation levels of EGFR to those in wild-type mouse lung tissue; in addition, it abrogated tumor growth within 1 week and prolonged survival to >30 weeks.